


A Classic Overture

by Verdic



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Other, iPods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 19:12:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11259183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verdic/pseuds/Verdic
Summary: Lukas Roberts has finally gotten a promotion and a command of his own. A squad full of biotic troops who specialize in in starting things more than ending them. There is one catch, they are called the Valkyrie for a reason.





	A Classic Overture

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on the challenge of putting your iPod on shuffle and writing a story based on the music you got. I ended up getting "Immigrant Song" By Led Zepplin followed by "Ride of the Valkyries". It was too good a combination to let up.

Lieutenant Roberts stood at attention. He was standing before the remainder of the Alliance’s military command to receive his new orders. It was only from years of training that he did not speak out. They had sweetened the deal by promoting him to N5. When he was dismissed, he saluted and stiffly walked out.

“Roberts, meet me in my office after this.” The unmistakable voice of Admiral Hackett. Roberts turned and saluted again before leaving. 

Five minutes later he found himself in Admiral Hackett’s office. He was ramrod straight in the seat across from the Admiral. “Relax Lukas, I called you here for an informal meeting. I could tell this new assignment doesn’t sit well with you.”

“No sir.” Roberts said. He realized he may have answered too fast. “I’m not comfortable with this assignment, although not because of the reasons you think.”  
“Then what is it?” Hackett’s blue eyes danced with curiosity.

“I’m the wrong person for the job. This is the Valkyrie squad. They have always been led by a woman. I don’t think they will take too kindly to having me be their commander.” Lukas did not meet Hackett’s eyes. Instead, he was looking about an inch over his right shoulder.

“That may be so, but you are the only one we have left who has the temperament, skills, and rank to lead them.” He held his hand up, forestalling Lukas’s objection. “I know this is not ideal, but they need a squad leader, you need a squad, and we need you for Operation Hammer. You ship out in two hours, galactic standard. Grab your gear and get to your ship.” The last part was an order, and Lukas did not dare disobey a direct order.

 

With fifty standard minutes to spare, Lt. Lukas Roberts found himself standing before the small scout Frigate Bifrost. He would have been earlier, but he had a friend to see on the Normandy. A friend who had provided him with some rare weapons, courtesy of a few favors they owed. He had been issued with new equipment to better fit his new posting. The Tactical Urban Biotic Combat armor he recieved as a gift from the Blood Dragons fit with the Nordic theme he was seeing. His new armor looked like it was gothic full plate from the middle ages, with wings on the helm. Thankfully, Hackett had specifically ordered it, so he was able to have room in the armor where he needed and not where he didn’t. Taking a deep breath, he walked onboard. He knew he would have to do this eventually.

“Lt. Roberts on board.” A synthetic voice called out. There had been noise as he walked on. Now there was none. His identity was a surprise to most of the crew, who only numbered 10, including the four marines he was to lead. 

“XO Sergeant Camille Srovo, welcome aboard sir!” A tall woman stepped up to him and saluted. Roberts saluted back.

“Good to be aboard XO. Are we ready for departure?” He asked, all business. He gave her credit for not hesitating to reply.

“Sir yes sir. Your team is waiting in the armory. Standard location.” 

“Well, unless you think there are any nasty surprises waiting, let’s go meet my new squad.”

 

 

“I need that barricade fixed now!” Denna barked out at the commandos under her command. She gritted her teeth at how under prepared they were. Her home world was under attack and civilians were being slaughtered everywhere. The Matriarchy had pulled every commando off aggressive duty and set them to defensive positions, helping to protect the ships ferrying civilians off world. They had been under constant siege for 5 days straight, with only minutes of breaks in the fighting. 

She looked around her. Only half of her soldiers and a quarter of the civilian militia remained active. The hordes of the Reapers seemed endless. They were in one of the small lulls that happened from time to time. Their last resupply was two hours late, and they still had scores of civilians to evacuate. One more charge. That’s about all the equipment, stamina, and moral they had left.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the barricade was fixed. It would give them a few more moments. She heard the snipers start firing, followed closely by the assault rifles. She sent a prayer to the Goddess and stepped up to the firing line. Her hopes of surviving this next wave sank. The sheer amount of Reaper troops was immense. She saw some of her troops waver.

“Each of you who flees is not only dead but killing all of her sisters. You stand and fight.” She had gotten good at bellowing orders, but now her throat was parched and it came out hoarse. The enemy were about 10 meters from the barricade when she heard it. It sounded like a style of human orchestral music. It had a soaring melody, something she thought humans might call triumphant. She felt she was finally cracking under the pressure. 

Then the music got louder. The increase in volume was accompanied by the front few ranks of the Reaper forces falling to the ground. Gambling with what little life she had left, Denna looked up. A Kodiak was flying low, its weapons blazing. As it passed over their position, 5 figures jumped out. 

The first figure was small, standing only 5’3. She carried a Spitfire cannon larger than herself. The second one was an immense woman of 6’6. Her body was covered in heavy weapon thermal clips. Both women landed on the barricade. The larger woman started setting up a defensive position as the smaller woman hosed the front of the Reaper line. The third figure was also female, but armed with a sniper rifle. She too landed on the barricade and started shooting at the larger enemies, causing havoc in their ranks.

The fourth and fifth figures landed beyond the barricade. At first Denna thought they had over calculated. While they were armed with shotguns, being alone in the middle of a firing alley was a sure way to die. She took a closer look at the shotguns. Those were of an older, but unknown pattern. She watched in awe as the two figures strode forward, swiveling and firing from the hip. She counted the shots till they reloaded. She lost count after 20 and they still didn’t reload. 

It was only a few minutes before the two figures jogged back to the barricade, the Reaper forces pushed back for now. The Kodiak had landed a few moments before, showing it was carrying a resupply of medigel and ammo. She immediately sent her troops to emptying it so it could start taking civilians. The leader of the newcomers strode over. She was surprised to see it was a male, dressed and outfitted the same as the others. 

“Who are you?” it was a question born of relief, not anger. 

“We are the Valkyrie.” The man replied. He pointed to the tall woman. “That is Sergeant Camille Srovo, medical and defensive specialist.” Pointing to the woman with the shotgun, “Corporal Angelica Ming.” To the sniper, “Gunnery Sergeant Helena Prokopis.” He then pointed to the smallest woman. His arm faltered. Even though their faces were hidden behind full concealing helms, Denna could tell by the body language what they were saying. He was asking if he had to, and she planted her hands on her hips in a gesture that universally said “Yes, you have to.” With a sigh, he said “And the spitfire over there with the Spitfire is Spitfire.” Denna could see the small woman beam with pride at this victory over her commanding officer.

“And his name is Thor.” The one called Angelica said.

“No, my name is Lt. Lukas Roberts.” His head half turned to Angelica. “We were sent here to help with the evacuation.” Denna was speechless. Her prayers had been answered by the Goddess. Richard cocked his head, shrugged his shoulders, and started placing his troops on the barricade, giving the Commandos a break. Getting a closer look, she realized why they didn’t reload.  
“How old are those shotguns?” She asked.

“About 4 years old. I got them from a Spectre who owed me a favor. These were the cream of the crop Spectre stock back in the day. A little heavier than modern shotguns, but not needing to reload means less weight in additional clips, so it’s an even trade.”

"You never told us why Spectre Alenko owed you such an expensive favor." Spitfire asked. "I bet it's juicy." Lukas looked like he was about to retort back. Once again Denna caught the impression that he was blushing under the helmet. Spitfire just laughed at her commanding officer's predicament. 

After seeing that her troops were taken care of, Denna decided to look up the terms Valkyries and Thor on her Omnitool. They had little to do but wait for the next rush, if these humans even needed their help. She flipped through the photos as she ate a nutrition bar. They did look like Valkyries, but they still wondered why they called him Thor. All the depictions showed him towering over even the largest Valkyrie, and Lukas was only taller than Spitfire and maybe Helena. She stood up fluidly as she heard gunfire. All of the Commandos surged to their feet to see another wave of Reaper troops coming at them. They quickly joined the Valkyrie on the firing step. 

Lukas looked at the oncoming horde. He measured the distance out, waiting till they were close enough that a charge would connect without leaving himself and Angelica exposed. “Ready.” He asked over the comms. His voice sounded relaxed even though his mouth was dry. A chorus of “Ready” came back over the comm to him. “Spitfire, you’re up.”

The small woman grinned behind her helm as she leveled the heavy weapon at the approaching horde. She activated her biotics to increase her relative weight so the recoil didn’t send her flying. She leveled the gun and started firing. Twin lines of relativistic ballistics streaked out from her custom Spitfire at the approaching horde, reducing dozens to mere paste. Camille was beside her, setting up barriers and swapping out the thermal clips for the spitfire, two at a time. 

“You have a lead trigger finger.” Camille grumbled as she flipped in a third pair of thermal clips. The only response she got was a cackling laugh and the spitfire starting its stream of ballistic rounds again.  
Lukas motioned to Angelica. She shifted her shoulders and nodded. He held up his fingers and counted down from three. Once his fingers all went down they both jumped the barricade and started running across the gap to the Reaper forces. They had both attached combat knives to the ends of their shotguns, but knew that was a last resort. Gathering their energy, they biotically charged into the coming horde. Angelica created a massive nova as Lukas covered her with rapid fire shotgun blasts. He kept firing until he heard the warning beeps of his weapon over-heating. To most people, this was a problem. To Lukas, it meant it was time to show off the other set of favors he called in. Lukas pulled out his new pistol and started to make snap shots. 

Denna could see why the women were Valkyries. They looked like all of the pictures she could find, had dropped out of the sky at her hour of need, as if the Goddess had sent them, and they were a little terrifying to watch. She still couldn’t think why they called their leader Thor. Sure, he was male, but so was a little under half of the human species. That was when she heard the whip crack of electricity. She looked out at the two humans who had run beyond the barricade. One of them was firing her shotgun and swinging with the blade. The other one held a pistol in one hand and a hammer in the other. From the pistol, small arcs of lighting were streaming while he whipped the hammer around to any who got too close.

She cursed herself for stopping to admire them when a deathly chorus of screeches came over the battlefield. There was a cadre of three banshees phasing through the back of the horde, and a harvester flying over them. Apparently, the Reapers really wanted this area reduced to rubble. They only had to wait out a few more minutes and the last of the civilians would be gone, then they could get their evac. A hand tapped her shoulder.

“Tell your troops to aim for the small enemies. We will take out the banshees and the Harvester.” Helena’s voice was very calm and quiet, and utterly reassuring to the Asari’s frayed nerves. Denna could only nod for a moment before barking out the orders to her troops.

“Focus on the husks. Leave the Banshees and the Harvester to the Valkyrie.” She hoped that she hadn’t made an unwise decision by listening to the humans.

 

“Spitfire, you ready?” Camille asked. She hefted a rocket launcher and unleashed two quick shots at the Banshees to get their attention. After the second one was fired, she threw down the launcher and got behind Spitfire. 

“Switching to single stream!” Spitfire yelled. Hitting a button, she opened fire, only one gun firing this time at a higher rate. The moment it started to over-heat, the circuits cut the trigger over to the other spitfire, keeping the stream of ammo continuous. With practiced efficiency, Camille removed the burning thermal clip and slammed a new one home. Denna watched in awe as this stream of ammunition reduced first one, then another banshee to ashes. She quickly looked for the third one. It was engaged in a close melee combat with Angelica and Lukas. Angelica waited till the Banshee was facing Lukas, ready to slam him into the ground before she unloaded a rapid-fire barrage, reducing the shields to nothing. Lukas focused his biotics in his legs and jumped, swinging his hammer in a double handed uppercut. He knocked the banshee’s head back, right into another barrage from Angelica’s shotgun. 

She looked over at quite Helena, who was carefully taking shots at the Harvester. She was picking her shots, more content it seemed to distract it than to finish it off. Perhaps she was waiting from something. 

 

“How’s the worm coming along?” Angelica asked as she vaulted back into cover. Lukas followed closely behind, hammer and lighting pistol still in hand.

“Going well. Getting it into position now.” She replied with the same calm manner as someone ordering breakfast at a nice café. “Who wants this one?”

“Give it to Thor, perhaps he can impress the Asari with it.” Spitfire chuckled. Denna couldn’t see their faced, but could guess that Lukas was blushing.

“Sir, you need someone you can do a mating dance for.” Camille said matter-of-factly.

“I do not need anyone to do a mating dance for. It would be wholly unprofessional.” Lukas bit back, although there was no anger in it. 

“No one said you had to marry her.” Spitfire said. “Besides, none of us will take this kill. The thought of you doing a mating dance like those birds of paradise is too funny.” Lukas grunted as he realized that no one was going to take this kill.

“Fine.” He continued to grumble, which made the rest of the Valkyrie chuckle. Denna had never seen anyone who could be so relaxed in a combat situation. She watched as the Harvester was coaxed closer. She watched Lukas as he put the hammer away and fiddled with the pistol in his hand. He gave the trigger a half pull and she saw the tip start to glow. 

“What is he going to do?” She whispered to Spitfire, who was the closest to her height out of all of them.

“Just watch.” She could swear the small woman was smiling coyly at her. Spitfire’s voice dripped with it. Denna watched as the Harvester flew closer. She then saw Lukas running towards it, gathering his biotic energy to his legs again. Angelica was standing nearby, gathering her biotics as well. Angelica used the lift power to reduce Lukas’s relative gravity at the same time he made a biotically assistance jump. The result was him soaring into the air, like a god from legend. Just before he got to the Harvester, Lukas pulled the trigger the rest of the way. Denna was nearly blinded by the lightning bolt that curled from Lukas to the Harvester. She felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Helena. On display from her Omnitool was a holographic image of Thor smiting Nidhogg, the great dragon, with lighting.

There was a moment of panic from everyone as the harvester swooped above them. “It’s not dead!” Angelica shouted in disbelief.

“Where is Lukas? I don’t see him on the ground.” Camille ran forward, her medical array fired up.

“Look up.” Helena’s calm voice cut through the chatter. They all looked up to see a figure on the Harvester. It was holding onto one of the spikes while smashing what looked like a hammer into the things head over and over. 

“WHY *Wham* WONT *Wham* YOU *Wham* DIE! *Wham” Came in over the comms. They watched as it turned to make another pass. Helena lined it up in her sights, but decided to wait for a few moments. She was watching Lukas smash open the head plate as he finally destroyed the brain. 

The harvester hit the ground with a bone jarring thud, throwing Lukas clean. Just before he landed, a shimmer of blue caught him and carried him back to Camille, who was exerting her biotics to the limit. Lukas and Camille hit the ground roughly when she finally released her biotics. The amp at the back of her neck was smoking lightly and was a dull cherry red. “Never. Do. That. Again.” She rasped out, chest heaving from the pain and exertion. 

“I cannot promise that. But I will try never to ride on…” He was cut off as Camille had crawled over and mounted herself on his chest. 

“Do or do not, asshole.” She buffeted his head feebly in her exhaustion. 

“I promise I will not.” He said, hands raised in surrender. Camille fell off him as her breath was still ragged, the energy sapped from her body. Denna was surprised that Lt. Roberts let his subordinates get away with that type of behavior. Perhaps it was a human thing. Perhaps his quip earlier about professionalism was just a joke. All she knew was that she was only glad that these humans from legend had arrived. They had successfully evacuated the civilians in this area, and they were now pulling out. Denna helped Camille to get onto the Kodiak while Lukas was left to move under his own power. She looked down as her planet burned. She had saved so many, but it was a drop of water on the fire that was consumer the races of the galaxy.


End file.
